Farm Aid 2004

photo by Farm Aid

Farm Aid 2004 had another big year at the sold out concert of 20,000 fans with founders Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, along with the Dave Matthews Band, Lucinda Williams, and Steve Earle at White River Amphitheater in Auburn, WA.

Chicago Sun-Times, reporter DAVE HOEKSTRA writes:

"I've only been to 10 of 17 Farm Aids, but Young put on his most heartfelt Farm Aid performance I have seen. The singer opened his set sitting in the center of a circle of five guitars and a banjo. He started slapping his hand on his guitar to establish a beat before launching into "Pocahontas," which he dedicated to the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. Young's vocals could have made an old man cry. As a forgiving breeze blew through the sold-out amphitheater, it became clear that Young remains a master at embracing the moment."

Young told the audience:

"Buy food grown by family farms and families living in a house; not by a board of directors at the top of a building in Chicago."

"Farmers could raise 20 percent of our energy needs," Willie Nelson told the Seattle Times referring to biodiesel fuels.

"My car and my truck both run on recycled cooking oil from restaurants, and my wife's Mercedes, too," he said. "The exhaust smells like french fries, but you get used to it. Actually, we kind of like it."

Also performing were Jerry Lee Lewis, Mark Broussard, Blue Merle, Kitty Jerry, Kate Voegele, and Tegan and Sara. The concert is also still available as a webcast on the Farm Aid site.

Neil Young's setlist (with Pegi Young on vocals):

Pocahontas, Harvest Moon, Journey Thru The Past, On The Way Home, Cowgirl In The Sand, Don't Let It Bring You Down, Birds, Human Highway, Old King, Four Strong Winds

Setlist posted on Bad News Beat.

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